RBG. She’s a real-life figure, but now with her own documentary, biopic, workout book, fan-bio, and iconography, in addition to her legal scholarship, she’s a bona-fide phenomenon. What makes her stand out?

bow the eff down, people.

In addition to her formidable intellect, she’s strategic, patient, and bold. And she is willing to fight for what she knows to be right— first and foremost, gender equality. She doesn’t care if she meets resistance— she knows the difference between might and right. Not content to be defeated, she also pioneered the dissenting opinion as an art form. “Dissents speak to a future age,” she once said, cementing her vision not only for her world, but for the generations following her. She has fought the good fight for decades, with her voice and her pen as her weapons. RBG is the personification of speaking truth to power.

you go, RBG.

Her life has also included roles as a parent, spouse, professor, and litigator. She famously instructed her son’s school to call his father, rather than her, since it was “his turn”. Before becoming a justice, she was also an incredibly influential legal strategist on women’s rights with a clear vision for equality when that was not the norm (says Amy Knight, a brilliant lawyer and badass female in her own right, as well as my twin sister).

I’d join this girl gang.

And now, add role model to her list of accomplishments. I mean, little girls (and big girls) dress up as her for halloween. She’s a living, breathing example of why we need the Badass Female project. That fills my heart with joy— we all want to be a little more like this fiercely passionate, intelligent, tenacious, and yes, badass, woman!

Addendum: I’d be remiss if I didn’t shoutout to my mom, who took me to see the RBG documentary last summer!